Chris Hicks’ District Attorney’s Facebook Problem: Awareness or Campaigning?

This year it seems like the DA’s office is paying for advertising on Facebook featuring their boss who just happens to be running for re-election - is this post to highlight Domestic Violence Awareness Month or candidate Chris Hicks.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month—a cause worth elevating. But is Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks elevating the cause, or elevating himself? Below is what Hick’s office posted a far cry from this year’s post featuring Hicks.

The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office Facebook post in 2024 for Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Scroll through the DA’s official Facebook page—funded by taxpayers—and you’ll find polished posts featuring Hicks himself, complete with a statement. The content may come stamped with the county logo, but the script reads like a campaign flyer. The catch? Those posts are produced and pushed by the DA’s public information officer, a position funded entirely with taxpayer dollars.

So here’s the question: is this about raising awareness, or raising re-election odds?

It’s hard to ignore the timing. Hicks is on shaky ground, facing challenger Wes Duncan, who is outraising him and just drew a crowd of about 100 at his campaign kickoff—where contributions were whatever folks could give, not the $250 minimum Hicks demanded at his own kickoff at Lakeridge Golf Course. Duncan’s campaign looks grassroots. Hicks’ looks like a gated community with velvet ropes.

And while Duncan is shaking hands in public, Hicks is hosting a string of private events, closed to the average voter. Sure, the details will eventually surface on his January 2026 campaign finance report, but by then, the Facebook posts will have already done their quiet work—reminding voters of Chris Hicks’ face, name, and “leadership” on the public’s dime.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month should be about survivors and solutions, not a backdrop for subtle campaigning. Hicks may argue the post is official business, but the optics are clear: when your taxpayer-funded office is producing content that looks suspiciously like campaign messaging, you’re blurring the line between public service and self-promotion.

If Hicks wants to run ads praising himself, he should use his campaign account, not county coffers. Otherwise, what we’re really raising awareness about this October is the fine art of incumbents using office resources to tilt the playing field.